Entertaining Angels
by MissTayllorBaby
Summary: Reid makes a connection on a particularly difficult case. She's his polar opposite, and he's the object of her affection.
1. Authors Note

Authors Note-

Okay, so after I took the team to read over it for the 50th time... I decided to do a bit of revision and rewriting. Nothing drastic, but there are some noticeable changes, hopefully for the better... Maybe keep an eye out for the sequel... I'm still deciding whether or not I want to. haha. Enjoy the revised version!

TL


	2. Chapter One

He couldn't believe what he was seeing before him. When they were handed the case, he didn't think it would be as horrific as a lot of his other cases has been, and he certainly never expected to be where he was standing at that exact moment. He could hear his team mates practically screaming in his ear, which was what brought him back to reality.

"Reid, do you need back up?"

When Morgan's words pulled him from his daze, Spencer dropped his gun and immediately bolted to the girl who was tied to the chair, doing the best he could to free her as quickly as possible. "Call an ambulance! NOW!" he screamed back.

"Alpha, Beta... Gamma... Delta..."

Reid looked up at the girl, who was barely conscious, still reciting the Greek alphabet to the best of her ability in a low, pained whisper. When he finally broke her free of the rope, he picked her up, surprised at how easy she was to lift, despite his also smaller frame. She gripped his sweater for dear life with the little energy she had left as he carried her outside, where paramedics were already waiting.

"I'd like to ride along if that's alright." Spencer said in a calm, yet out of breath voice.

"Reid, that's not our job. They can take it from here." Hotchner replied, hesitating to let him do so.

"Hotch, I can't... I can't just leave her. There's no one else to be with her, please..." he pleaded.

"Reid. Our job is done. Case closed." he said in a stern voice, ending the conversation.

-----

The next few weeks were especially difficult for Spencer. He couldn't stop thinking about her, and what happened in the house. He let his mind drift while doing some paperwork to the day he met her.

_"Hi! I'm Ayva, it's great to meet you!" the bright eyed girl smiled, greeting the BAU team as they entered the chapter house of the sorority she belonged to. "We really appreciate you taking your time to talk to us like this... Especially with that's been going on and all."_

_"I'm SSA Hotchner and this is Dr. Spencer Reid. We're happy to help, we just want to keep you all safe."_

_"Wow... a Doctor? You look so young!" Ayva exlaimed, looking Spencer up and down._

_"Uh Spen- Spencer. You can-you don't have to call me Doctor... I'm 25, actually." he stuttered, very nervous to be around a girl with her striking beauty._

_"Well, the chapter room is right this way, everyone's already waiting!"_

He knew immediately that she would be the next target, her physical profile fit perfectly, and her personality was almost identical to the description of the previous victim. She was the indirect alpha female, or more commonly referred to as the beta. She knew how to grab attention, yet she didn't command it. She was well liked and respected, yet seemingly unaware. And her naivety made her the perfect target. Part of what bothered him so much was the fact that she lived locally, so they all had the falsified sense of security, thinking it would be easier to keep her safe.

"Hey kid, did you hear me?"

Spencer shot his head up when he heard Derek's voice. "Sorry, what?"

"We got another case. Let's go!"

The team kept an unusually close eye on Reid since their last case, all wondering what exactly it was that he saw or heard in that house that had him so moved by it. They engrossed themselves with different activities to occupy their time on the plane while Morgan finally stood up and took a seat next to Reid.

"What happened in there, kid?" he asked softly, pulling Reid from his thoughts.

Spencer paused for a minute before he could bring himself to speak. "When I walked in to the room, I... she was already tied up... and there was this lead pipe... it w- it was inside of her, she was bleeding really badly... then she shot everyone in the room..." he recalled, quietly.

"Ayva?"

"No.. It was Samantha... She put everyone in front of Ayva and she made her recite the Greek alphabet while... while she just open fired on everyone... she told her if she did it fast enough, she wouldn't hurt them, but she shot anyway... And the way she looked at me when finally got to her, it was just… I read the medical examiners report and she had a lot of the same wounds that I did when I... And the police report said that She tried to make her choose one of them to kill… I tried to find a way to get her out without shooting. I took too much time, I could have helped her sooner..."

"Reid, that's not your fault. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. You did the best you could and you saved her. You were the only one who knew Ayva was going to be next, and if you hadn't known, she probably wouldn't be alive. You cannot blame yourself for this, kid." Morgan reasoned.

"It's just one of those memories that I don't think I'll ever be able to 'etch-a-sketch,' so to speak." he said, sadly.

-----

"NO!"

Ayva shot up from her bed, as the nightmare brought her back in to consciousness. It had been three weeks since she had been released from the hospital, and every single night she would wake up multiple times from the same dream. She glanced at the clock 3:32am. Sighing, she put her hand on her forehead.

She couldn't live the way she did before. Walking in to the quaint apartment was a challenge every night. She had to prepare herself every time, and when she walked in, she would obsessively scan every room before going back to the front door to push the table in front of it.

Resting against the headboard, she picked up the small business card that she'd held in her hands every single night since she'd come home. Every time she woke up in a panic, she would contemplate calling him... The agent that had been on her mind since the day she met him. But every time she would refrain, talking herself out of it, insisting to herself that she would just be a bother.

But tonight... tonight she just couldn't resist. He'd been on her mind for far too long, and she finally gave in, picking up the card and her cell phone. She dialed the numbers and hit the 'send' button.

After three rings she finally heard a strained, tired "Reid."

Ayva hesitated before speaking, to which a more alert voice spoke, "Hello? Is somebody there?"

"Spencer, hi... It's Ayva..." she finally said, softly.

He sat up immediately upon hearing her name. "Ayva. Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

"No... Yes... Um.. I'm sorry for calling so late.."

"No, don't worry at all! It's not a problem. Is everything alright?" Spencer responded, a bit over-zealously.

"Um... I was wondering... I mean, I know it's late, a-and you don't have to, but I just-" she stumbled over her words. "Would you may-maybe come over?"

"Definitely." he nodded, even though no one could see him. "Do you need anything? Coffee? _Anything_?" he asked, already getting up looking around for his pants.

"No, I'm okay…"

"I'm on my way." Spencer replied, hanging up the phone.

Ayva sat back on her bed, waiting for him to get there. She decided to get up, figuring that if she was expecting the knock at the door, then it wouldn't scare her as badly.

Wrong.

When she heard it, she dropped the cup in her hands, causing it to shatter on the floor. 'fuck my life..' she whispered to herself, slowly walking toward the door yelling "Who is it?"

"Uh, Spen-Spence... Uh, Dr. Reid."

Ayva smiled at the sound of his voice, and pushed the table out of the way so she could open the door. He smiled when he saw her peek from behind the door to let him in. He looked around her apartment, noticing that it looked the same, but it felt different to be here this time. "I hope I didn't scare you when I knocked..."

She let out a small laugh. "No, it's okay, I just dropped my cup." Ayva admitted, embarrassed. "I just have to clean it up..."

"Here, let me help you." Spencer said, walking over to the area that was now covered in glass.

"You really don't have to, it's just me being clumsy..." she sighed, sweeping up the tiled floor.

"It's really probably best that you don't, seeing as you don't have shoes on..." he gave an endearing smile.

Ayva stepped back and sat herself on the couch, watching him clean the rest of the glass off the floor. She noticed how meticulous he was about getting every piece, how precise his movement was, and just a double check to make sure he'd gotten it all. He walked to the couch she was sitting on and smiled down at her as she was playing with a small blue-ish blanket in her hands.

"Is it alright if I sit here?"

"Of course." she smiled, nodding her head.

They sat in the silence for a few minutes, each engrossed in their own thoughts when Reid finally spoke. "Ayva I'm really sorry."

"You're sorry?!" she exclaimed wide-eyed. "Why are you sorry?!"

"I wish that I could have done more... And I cou-could have stopped her sooner... I felt like I could have done more." he sighed as if he was admitting defeat, fidgeting nervously with his hands

She put her hands over his to stop him from moving. "Spencer, I'm alive because of you. If you hadn't found me when you did, I wouldn't be here right now... I wish I could have said this much, much sooner, and I know it sounds really stupid and insignificant, but thank you. You will never know how much it means to me, what you did... You've done enough... you're doing more than enough."

"I don't know how accurate that statement is... but I'm happy to be here. I'm surprised that you want me here, to be honest." he shrugged.

"I know this sounds really awkward, but you being here… It makes me feel safe." She said, quietly.

"I'm glad I could be of service to a p-pretty girl, especially one like you." He smiled, hoping he didn't sound too cheesy.

"Spence, uh, I don't know what-"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you or anything of that nature, I really-"

"No, it's not that! I just don't know-" Ayva tried to explain.

"It's alright, really. I've grown accustomed to-" he tried to cover.

"No, it's not alright… And they're wrong." Ayva said pretty sternly as she realized why he was so quickly jumping to conclusions.

"Who's wrong?"

"My sisters." She replied. "I know you must have heard the stupid comments they were making and you should know I had no part in that conversation."

"Ayva, it's really okay. You don't have to do this." he shook his head, a little embarrassed.

"I know I don't, but I wanted you to know. I don't think that way… And that someone like you would never be interested in someone like me, but-"

"What do you mean someone like me?" he asked, intrigued by her way of thinking.

"Well, I just... For what it's worth... I like you."

"I like you, too. And for what it's worth," he smiled, repeating her sentiment, "not only are you strikingly beautiful, but you're extremely strong… And smart."

Ayva scoffed at his statement. "Obviously not smart enough…"

"If it was anyone's fault, Ayva, it's mine." He corrected.

"Let's just agree to disagree, okay?"

"Fine. Agree to disagree."


	3. Chapter Two

_Ayva drifted in to consciousness feeling very sore. Before she opened her eyes, she lifted her arms trying to rid her body of the aching but her eyes shot open when she realized she was unable to do so. It hadn't been an awful dream; she really had been taken. She tried to break free, noticing that her entire body was tied to the chair she was in. As she became more alert, the pain became much more real, looking over herself, seeing bruises and cuts already, tears sprang to her eyes._

_"Oh Ayva... Don't cry. I brought your friends, look."_

_Ayva lifted her head immediately hearing the female voice. 'It's a girl... the killer is a girl...' she thought to herself, with more panic setting in. She also saw that her entire Greek family was tied up behind her, looking like they had been beaten as well._

_"Don't hurt them please... Just take me. Please don't hurt them… They didn't do anything." she pleaded, finding it harder and harder to keep her head lifted._

_"It's sad, really, the way they're so dedicated to a worthless little slut like you. None of them could find something to say about you. Not one thing... How fucking pathetic." the woman taunted, breaking half of, what appeared to be, a beer bottle. She started walking toward Ayva's big sister._

_"Don't hurt her! Please! Do it to me! I don't care what it is... Just do it to me instead... Don't hurt Kristen..." Ayva screamed._

_Her friends stared in shock as the woman walked back toward Ayva. She took the bottle right by her throat, cutting the collar of her shirt and proceeded to rip the rest of it off her. "Are you sure about that?"_

_"Yes. Just don't hurt them..."_

_"You know what I love about you Ayva? You're so ridiculously stupid. Do you know how long you've been missing to these people? Three days. Why is it that none of them noticed? Not one person went looking for you. How special do you think you are to them now?"_

_"No... I don't believe it..." Ayva shook her head, trying to choke back her sobs._

_The woman shook her head and swung the bottle across Ayva's abdomen, which immediately started bleeding. She cried out, causing everyone in the room to wince. _

_"I'll tell you what..." the woman spoke before smashing Ayva's face in to her knee."Let's play a little game. If you can recite the Greek alphabet right now... I won't kill your friends. Go."_

_Ayva pulled her head up and began to recite, "alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma, tau, upsilon, phi, chi, psi, omega."_

_"You're going to have to go faster than that if you want to keep them alive..." the woman warned._

_Ayva started speak faster, fighting to keep consciousness, and praying she would have mercy on her friends, if not her. The woman laughed at Ayva's attempt simply saying "too late!" before she started to fire on her friends._

"NO!"

Ayva screamed, waking herself up from another nightmare. She looked around in a panic, trying to recognize her surroundings. When she looked beside her, she sighed in relief when she saw Spencer, now awake looking right back at her.

"God damn it..." she said, putting her face in her hands."I'm sorry for waking you up."

Spencer sat up right on the couch, and put his arm around her. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

It had been over a month since the night Ayva called Reid over to her apartment. After that, they continued spending time together when ever Spencer wasn't gone for work. She became a big support system for him, just like he had been for her. Ayva was much stronger than she gave herself credit for, putting his concerns before her own. Even though Reid was more of a logical thinker rather then a 'feeling' type, she loved listening to the way he would explain things, bringing out statistics and facts rather than his emotional stand point on situations.

Ayva turned her body toward his, resting her head on his chest and putting her arms around his stomach. "Tell me a story... Tell me a joke... Talk to me, say _anything_... Just take my mind of this..." she pleaded.

Even though Reid was still a little uncomfortable by her affection, but lightly put his arms around her. "J.J and Emily asked about you today."

"You told them that you talk to me, still?"

"We analyze behavior for a living, Ayva. I'm sure they figured it out after the first day or so." he laughed.

"Well let them know I said hello, for sure. I guess you can decide whether or not to tell them I'm doing better." she shrugged.

"Give it time... things like this take time to heal, trust me, I know..."

"Do you really? I mean... I know you see this day in and day out, but do you really know?"

"This one case we had... The unsub's name was Tabias Hankel..."

-:-

"I love spending time with him, he's so sweet."

Ayva's friends weren't sure what to make of the fact that she was spending so much time with Reid. They all told her she could do better, and they didn't understand why she was so infatuated with him.

"Ayve... Really? What's with you? You're passing up guys that half the campus would kill to be with for... Spencer Reid?"

Ayva stared incredulously at Jessica. Seriously?

"I'm just saying... You could do better. Why settle?"

"Wow, Jessica. I'm done with this conversation." Ayva responded, shaking her head. "Because you have no idea what you're talking about."

She left the house and walked toward her car, profoundly offended at Jessica's comments. She glanced at her watch, noticing the time, remembering she agreed to meet Spencer for dinner at 6:30. She started her car and headed for the restaurant they agreed to meet at. When she arrived, she found a parking spot close to the entrance, and headed in.

"Hey, Ayva! How are you?"

Ayva turned around coming face to face with Emily Prentiss. A smile came to her face when she recognized her, and put her arms out for a hug.

"Hey! What are you doing here? How have you been?"

"Well Reid mentioned you guys were having dinner tonight, so the rest of the team just decided to invite ourselves so we could catch up with you. I hope that's okay, you look adorable by the way!" she looked Ayva up and down, noticing how good she looked in a pair of skinny jeans and a collared t shirt with the collar popped and a pair of sandals.

"Yeah, for sure! Where's everyone else? Is Spencer here yet?"

"We have a booth right over in that corner." Emily pointed out. "I have to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Ayva headed for the table that Emily pointed out, hoping that Spencer would be the first person she saw, wanting to hug him quite badly at the moment. To her relief, he was sitting on the outside of the booth facing her, so he was, in fact, the first to notice she'd arrived.

"Ayva!" he smiled, standing up to greet her.

"Spence..." she sighed, and put her arms around his midsection.

"You okay?" Reid asked, with a hint of worry in his tone.

"Yeah, I'm good." she smiled, as she stepped back from the hug. "Just had a long day."

Everyone at the table watched the two interact carefully before greeting her the same way Emily had. They were elated to see how well she was doing-smiling and laughing, very similar to how she was prior to her abduction; though there was still an unmistakable absence of light that used to radiate from her. Ayva was surprised by how at ease they all made her feel, something she seemed to lose from her friends lately.

"Who wants to do a round of shots?" Morgan announced, holding up a $20 bill in his hand as the waitress approached their table.

Everyone chorused their approval, and Morgan ordered Kamikaze's for the table. When Spencer's was placed in front of him, he looked at it hesitantly. Ayva couldn't help but laugh when she noticed his expression.

"It's vodka, triple sec, and lime juice, Spence."

"I know what's in it, I've just never had it before." he admitted.

"It's easy to take, I promise, doesn't taste strong at all."

The cheers'd to a good night, and while everyone else threw the shot back, Reid slowly sipped on his, which caused Ayva, JJ, Emily and Penelope to giggle.

"Alright, which one of you lovely ladies is going to dance with me?" Morgan stood up, looking expectantly at the women, and when none of them stood with him, he took Ayva's hand. "Come on, baby girl. I'm not takin' no for an answer."

Ayva smiled and let him drag her to the dance floor. When they reached out of ear shot, everyone else at the table turned their attention to Reid, whose eyes were still on her. He carefully watched how she moved, the way she danced with Morgan as a little pang of jealousy hit him as Morgan's hands moved to her hips. When he turned his attention away from her, he finally noticed that everyone was staring at him.

"What?"

"Oh please, like you're not absolutely in love with her." Penelope gushed.

"What are you guys talking about? Ayva's a victim in recovery, it would be completely inappropriate." he defended.

"Oh Spencer..." JJ mocked, throwing her arms around Garcia. "I just had a long day and need to feel the arms of a big strong man around me." she said in a high pitched voice, causing even Hotch to crack a smile.

"You're over reacting. There's this thing called transference, which explains that a victim can misplace a multitude of feelings due to a familiar behavior in someone that invokes those feelings; she's probably just experiencing post-traumatic stress causing the transference." he said, trying to rationalize the situation.

"Is it really so hard for you to believe that she may actually like you? You spend every waking moment that you're not with us with her." Emily asked.

"Her friends don't think much of me." Reid smiled sadly.

"Who cares? She obviously likes you!"

"Oh, see now I could understand where that would be difficult." Hotch agreed.

"What?" all three women said at the same time.

"You're women! You know perfectly well that the first thing you do after your friends meet a guy you're seeing is ask what they think of him. And if these are her 'sisters,' there's pressure there." he defended.

"She doesn't really seem like the type to listen to what other people think, though, Reid. I'd go for it, she may surprise you."

Ayva looked over at Spencer while she was dancing with Morgan. He turned her back around so she was facing him, and he smirked knowingly. "You have a crush on the kid, don't you?"

"Nah." she shook her head. "He wouldn't be interested in someone like me."

"What do you mean someone like you?"

"He's much smarter than me. I would probably bore him to death." she gave a small smile.

"You mean he doesn't bore you to death?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not! He's one of the most interesting people I know."

"And you think he wouldn't be interested in you, why?" he asked, not understanding her thinking.

"I don't challenge him, like his mind, ya know? He would get bored with me. To be honest, I'm a little surprised he hasn't already."

"Just because you don't challenge him academically doesn't mean you don't challenge his mind, Ayva. Reid is a smart guy, but when it comes to the social aspects of life, he's clueless. You're both extremely smart; you both just have different strengths."

Ayva let the words Morgan had just said sink in as she let her eyes drift back toward their table. She tried to rationalize the situation as best she could, but there was just no reasonable explanation that a guy like Spencer Reid would ever look twice at a woman like her.


	4. Chapter Three

"She told you that Show Girls was a romantic comedy, and you believed her?"

Morgan looked at Reid disbelievingly. They were driving back from their latest case.

"What else would I have thought? That's what she told me!" he tried to defend himself.

"Reid, did you look at the cover for it? Elizabeth Berkley is naked with a robe covering practically nothing. Give me a break, kid."

"Well, now I certainly know for the future."

"So when's the next time you see her?" Morgan asked, trying to get a few more details out of him.

Reid looked down when he felt his phone vibrate in his hand, and flipped it open. "Sry again bout the movie, just thought it wld be funny. U choose next time?" He texted back agreeing that he'd get to choose the next movie they watched.

"She's actually texting me now." he responded, opening his phone back up to read her quick reply and smiled, "She wants to hang out when we get back."

The next few days seemed to drag on for Spencer. Ayva was wrapped up with sorority stuff, which left him with a lot of free time. He usually wouldn't be bothered by it, normally spending the spare time he had listening to lectures or reading. But lately he found himself wanting more than isolation. He wrapped his mind around the idea his colleagues put in his head about asking her out on a date. He lost himself in deep thought while he was sitting at his desk, until the ringing of his phone caused him to jump.

"This is Spencer Reid."

"Hey you. What are you up to?"

It was Ayva.

"Just finishing up some paper work, what about you?"

"Oh, I just finally got a minute to myself, so I figured I'd call. How's your day going?"

He didn't know what prompted the sudden courage he found, but afraid he'd lose it just as quickly, he blurted out, "Ayva would you go out with me tomorrow night?"

A smile came to Ayva's face when he asked. "Like a date?"

"Well, uh, yeah. I mean it doesn't have t-" he started to ramble, immediately regretting his decision to ask her.

"Yes." she interrupted.

"Really?" he asked, incredulous.

"Definitely. I have to stay a little late after class tomorrow for a committee meeting, so is 8 okay?"

"Of course. I'll pick you up at 8."

-----

"Prentiss." Emily answered when she opened her phone.

"Hey, Emily, it's Ayva... I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Ayva, hey honey. Not at all, we're just finishing up a case briefing. What's up?"

Reid's head shot up when he heard Emily say her name, automatically tuning himself in to her conversation.

"Uh, I'm right outside of the BAU office, actually. Do you and JJ have a few minutes to talk, by any chance?" she asked, hopefully.

"Definitely, anything wrong?"

"Not at all... I just- could you not tell Spencer about this? It sounds silly, but I don't want him to know why I'm here."

Emily noticed that Reid was paying close attention to her, he knew that Ayva was on the other end. "Of course I'd love to meet for drinks next week. I'll give you a call tomorrow and we can figure out a time and place. Talk to you later."

She shut her phone, and suddenly realized the team was looking at her. "Uh, JJ can I grab you for a second?"

"Is Ayva okay?" Spencer immediately asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. I just need to talk to JJ."

"What's going on?" Morgan asked, noticing her odd behavior.

"Nothing. Just need her for a second." Emily assured.

"Is something wrong?" Hotch looked at her suspiciously.

"I just started my period and I need a tampon. That's all!" she replied, exasperatedly.

The men in the room groaned, obviously sorry they inquired while JJ and Emily made their exit. Emily walked out of the conference room, heading toward the hallway right outside of the BAU office, with JJ in tow. She turned the corner and saw Ayva waiting.

"Hey, thank you for taking a few minutes for me!" Ayva greeted them both.

"What's going on?" JJ asked.

"I just... well Spencer asked me out, and he's taking me to dinner tonight..."

"That's great! What's the problem?"

"I need ideas on what to talk about... Or just, like, how to be. He's a lot smarter than me, and I'm worried it's going to show, and I just... I want to impress him." she replied in a panic.

"Sweetie, just be yourself. He's already completely infatuated with you, it'll be fine."

"Please just give me some idea... Or suggestions… Or something, this is really important to me."

"Okay... Spence loves anything Star Wars/Star Trek related. Um, family is probably a sore subject, at least for now." JJ suggested.

"He loves Halloween, and he does magic a lot." Emily also added.

"Spence is a pretty simple guy, Ayva. It doesn't take much to impress him."

"Thank you both, I'll definitely see you guys soon, okay?"

Ayva left, feeling a little more at ease about the evening to come. She headed back to campus, just in time for her class. A few hours later, as her meeting finished, she fled home. After taking a quick shower, she stood in front of her closet, hoping something would just jump out at her and scream, "Wear me!" And when she had no such luck, she decided to do her make up dry her hair before coming back to her closet.

With her make up all done, she pulled her long blond hair out of the towel she wrapped it up in and ran her fingers through it a few times, before taking the blow dryer to it. When it was finally all dry, she took her large barrel curling iron and made a few loose curls and then shook her head upside down while spraying it with hair spray. Deeming her hair and make up acceptable, Ayva went back to her closet, hoping the second time she looked would be more successful than the first.

She finally decided on a pair of dark denim jeans, a soft green tie back tunic, and black heels. Spencer had perfect timing; just as she was finishing up, he knocked on her door. Ayva practically ran toward the door, anxious to see who was waiting for her on the other side. When she opened it, Spencer stood before her smiling, with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey." she smiled. "Come in, I just need to grab my purse."

"You look really pretty." he nervously commented as he watched her walk across the room to get her purse.

"Thanks, Spence, you don't look so bad yourself." she smiled, leading him out the door. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, I, uh, I was thinking that some privacy might be nice, so I made dinner back at my apartment and I rented a movie. Is that alright?" he asked nervously.

"It's perfect." Ayva's heart melted when he said he actually cooked for her. So sweet. "I'm curious as to what it actually looks like. I've never been to your apartment before."

When they arrived at Spencer's, he led her inside and to the elevator that took them up 3 stories before reaching his floor. When they stepped off, Ayva looked around at his eccentric home. She smiled at all the little details that were so typically Spencer and then turned back to him. "This is really nice. I like it!"

"It's not bad, I suppose. Would you like to see my favorite part of the apartment?"

Spencer led her toward a sliding door. He opened it, letting her step out on the balcony first. There was a table set and candles in strategic places, but not on the table. "Spence... wow. You did all this for me?" Ayva turned around, as he was right behind her.

"Yeah... Um, see most people make the mistake of putting a candle on the table, but insects are actually attracted to the darkness behind the light, and it would draw more of them toward the candle trying to find that darkness." He nervously rambled.

"I didn't know you could cook."

"It's actually surprisingly easy. As long as you have precise measurements of time and quantity, it's fairly simple."

After they ate, they headed back inside. Ayva continued to look around his apartment at various pictures and different things that adorned the living room and kitchen. "Hey Spence, will you show me a magic trick?" She looked over to him as he was finishing cleaning up.

"Okay." he agreed. He picked up a piece of paper from his coffee table and stood in front of her. "What's your favorite type of flower?"

"A hibiscus."

He started to fold the piece of paper in the general shape of an exotic flower. He held it by the tip, and then let go of it. Ayva's jaw dropped as the paper stayed floating in front of him. He waved his hands all around it to prove that he wasn't holding it with anything and then pulled a lighter out of his pocket. He lit the paper on fire, and put it out with his other hand, as a bunch of pink hibiscus flowers emerged from out of nowhere.

"For you." he smiled.

"Oh wow! That's so neat!" her eyes lit up. "Can I show you a magic trick?" she asked nervously.

"Sure, what kind of-"

Ayva cut him off by leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him. She rested her hands on his chest and brought her lips softly to his. After a few seconds she pulled back and took his hand. She placed it over her heart before she spoke. "See how fast you make my heart beat? It's like magic," she said, quietly.

Spencer moved his hand from her heart to behind her neck and pulled him toward her, once again bringing her lips to his. He deepened the kiss this time, pulling her body closer to his. It wasn't until Ayva actually lost her balance until either of them pulled back.

"Spence... Wow, I-"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Before he could say anything else, she cut him off with another kiss.


	5. Chapter Four

"Ayva! Over here!"

Ayva looked around for her sisters one of the college-friendly restaurants in town, sighing in relief when one of them called her over to the large table full of them. "Hey guys, you remember Spencer, right?"

While a lot of the girls smiled at the two, there were a good number of them whispering to their boyfriends, or the other girls beside them, and only made it all too obvious. Ayva was hoping that it wouldn't continue throughout the night, because she knew Spencer already felt inferior around her friends. But to her dismay, the looks and eye rolling began while they ordered. Every time he opened his mouth to contribute to the conversation, a few of the girls would whisper, some would smirk, and a couple even faked a loud cough. She was beginning to get really angry, wondering why they would be so blatantly hurtful when he had been nothing but wonderful to her and the rest of her friends.

"Hey Ayva, look, a bunch of the Pikes are here!" Jessica pointed out with a smug smile.

"Oh, that's cool. Hadn't noticed." she brushed off the comment, hoping Jessica wouldn't pursue the subject.

"What's a pike?" Spencer asked Ayva quietly.

"Brother of Pi Kappa Alpha, it's a frat on campus." she whispered back.

"We should invite them over to sit with us! Oh I think I see Chase with them! You should go and say hi, you guys used to be adorable together. Have you met Chase yet, Spencer?"

"Uh, no. Actually I haven't had the privilege yet." he replied, trying to keep the conversation light.

"Wanna come to the bar and get a drink with me, Spence?" Ayva asked, hoping to shield him from Jessica's appalling behavior.

"Sure." he agreed.

"I'm really sorry about them, I really didn't think it would be like this, and if I'd known I wouldn't have brought you here." she apologized as they walked toward the bar.

"It's okay. I'm sorry you have to be embarrassed to take me out." he replied with a light laugh, trying to hide the fact he was being serious.

"No. Spence. Is that really...? Come here."

Ayva pulled him to the middle of the room, visible to everyone. She looked around, noticing she already grabbed some attention just by walking to the middle of the room. She pulled Spencer by the collar of his shirt, and brought his lips to hers for a very passionate, very public kiss. When she finally pulled away, she took his hand in hers, and waited for the bartender to serve her. She was hoping that if anyone needed it spelled out, that it had done the trick. She cared more about Spencer than most of her family, and for her sisters to treat him like this was unacceptable. She wanted him to understand that her friends had no bearing on their relationship.

"I'd never be embarrassed to take you out," she said, kissing him once again.

"Hey Ayva, how's it goin'?"

Ayva turned around, recognizing the voice. "Hey Chase. How are ya, sweetheart?" she greeted him with a friendly hug.

"Doin' pretty good. And yourself?"

"Just having dinner with some of my sisters. Oh, this is Spencer by the way. Spence, this is Chase."

"Good to meet you, man. I hear you're a good guy." Chase greeted putting his hand out to shake. Chase looked like your typical all-American. He was built, had blond hair and an obvious love for Abercrombie and Fitch.

"Nice to meet you as well." Spencer took his hand to shake; finally relieved to meet someone that wasn't alienating him.

"Well I gotta get back to the boys. It was good seeing you, sweetheart. If you talk to Kev before I do, set up family night or something, I'd love to have a fam get together before the semester's over. Nice meetin' you again, man."

After Chase ducked out, Ayva sat on the empty stool. "He's Kevin's Greek twin. They have the same big brother. He's a really good guy, Jessica was just trying to make it look bad."

"So you didn't date him?"

"We did, for a very short period of time..." Seeing his face fall made her instantly feel awful for admitting it. "I don't like him the way that I like you, Spence."

"Is it alright if we go?" Spencer timidly requested.

"Absolutely."

-:-

"Cute picture." Morgan said as he noticed a picture of Spencer with Ayva when he passed Reid's desk. "What is that little thing next to it?"

"Ayva and I went to Chuck E Cheese last night. And we split up to get as many tickets as we could and we got each other something with the tickets we won. This was what she got me." he smiled, holding up the little astronaut action figure.

"So what did you end up getting her?"

"A care bear pillow. Turns out I'm pretty good at skee ball, apparently."

"So how's it goin' with her? You two seem to be pretty happy."

"Really well, I think. She hasn't gotten sick of me yet, so that's basically a mile stone for me." Reid laughed.

"So have you gotten any lovin' yet?" Morgan smirked, jabbing him in the arm.

Reid shrugged and replied, "No."

"Damn, you guys have been together for how long, and ya'll still haven't gotten dirty yet?"

"It'll be 2 months on Tuesday, and no, we haven't." he said uncomfortably.

"Did I strike a nerve with you or something?"

"I just don't feel very comfortable talking about my sex life with you, that's all."

"Hey, no worries, kid. Well I'm about to head out, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." Morgan patted Reid on the back and walked away.

Reid stayed to catch up on some paper work he'd been neglecting, and he didn't end up leaving until about 4 hours after Morgan. He tried calling Ayva on his way home, but she wasn't answering her cell. Figuring her study group or committee meetings were just going late, he didn't persist, and just headed back to his apartment. He opened his door, a little startled when he realized there was someone there, but sighed in relief soon after realizing it was Ayva, who appeared to have fallen asleep on his couch. He made a casual glance at the kitchen, then did a double take when he noticed that his table was set, and there was food on the stove. She cooked for him.

He walked over to her sleeping figure, leaned down and lightly placed his hand on her back, gently rubbing to subtly wake her up. "Ayva, sweetheart, wake up." he said softly.

Ayva stirred, slowly drifting back in to consciousness to the sound of Spencer's voice. She sleepily opened her eyes and smiled when he was the first thing she saw. "Hi."

"Hey." he smiled back. "If I had known you were here, I would have left a lot earlier."

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry for, you know, breaking and entering. I just wanted to surprise you." She smiled sadly, realizing her plan hadn't turned out like she'd hoped.

"You did. I'm really glad you're here." Spencer stroked her cheek, and pushed her hair out of her face, admiring her beauty. "God I am so lucky." he said quietly, staring down at her.

"Spence?"

"Yeah?" he looked at her, making eye contact.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Ayva."

Ayva put her hand around the back of Spencer's neck and pulled him to her, once again bringing his lips to hers. As the kiss deepened, she subtly pulled on Spencer's arm, and he crawled on top of her. Ayva put both of her arms around him, pulling his body closer to his. She could feel him start to react to her but just as she did, he pulled back. Ayva sat up and looked over at him, remaining quiet, trying to come up with something to say, while Spencer kept fidgeting on the other side of the couch.

"Uh, I'm sorry..." she bit her lip.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm sorry… I didn't mean to over react." he replied, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"It's okay, I mean... you enjoyed it, right?" she asked shyly, and put her hand on his knee.

"Yeah, of course I did!"

She moved over toward him to straddle his waist, and picked his head up with her hands. "Then, there's no reason to stop, right?"

"I just... I thought that you-"

"Do you trust me?"

"What?" he said, confused.

"Do you trust me?" Ayva asked again.

"Of course I trust you."

"Then stop thinking so much." She said, moving to kiss his neck. "Just feel..."

Ayva continued to kiss his neck and around his ear, smiling as she heard a small moan come from his throat. Her lips found his again, and Spencer's hands roamed her body, while she started to rock her hips against his. His body reacted to hers, and he gripped her waist, pulling her more forcefully toward him. Ayva slowly moved her hands down toward his belt. She started to undo his belt, and could feel him tense up once again.

"Just relax." she whispered. "Do you need me to stop?"

"N-no…" he stuttered. "Don't stop."

Ayva moved her lips to his neck, knowing it would release his tension, and it did. She could feel his body relax underneath her, while she continued to kiss his neck, she moved her hands back to his belt buckle, and took it off him. She undid the button on his pants, and slowly pulled the zipper down. She moved her hand inside his boxers and put her hand around his cock. Spencer moaned loudly this time, unconsciously jerking his hips up in to her hand. She tried to hide her surprise when she wrapped her hand around him, barely being able to fit her fist around him, but Spencer saw her eyes widen for a brief moment.

"What?" he asked, with a concerned look on his face.

"Uh, nothing. You're just really big, is all." she replied, with a shy smile.

"Sorry..." he looked up at her, with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"No, don't be sorry, babe. It's a good thing, I promise." she started to jerk him, to take his attention away from the subject.

Spencer's head fell back as her hand moved up and down his cock. "Ayva...Mmm."

She sped up her hand, loving how he looked at that moment. She loved that she was responsible for it. As his head was back, Ayva kissed around his adams-apple and moving up toward his ear.

"I love feeling you like this. You're so hot."

Spencer moved his hands up Ayva's tank top, gathering the fabric as he went. He pulled it above her chest, and compliantly, she lifted her arms and let him take it off her, so that she was in nothing but her bra and a pair of jeans. He put his hands back on her, trying to make sure he wasn't imagining her. Reid never would have thought in his wildest dreams that a woman like Ayva would be sitting on his lap, topless with his cock in her hand. It was almost too much for him to handle.

"Ayva... I'm gonna... Oh my god..."

"Just let it go, Spence." She whispered in his ear.

A few seconds later, Spencer let out a large moan and came on Ayva's hand, letting the orgasm take over his body. Seeing him cum turned Ayva on beyond belief, she was ready to rip off all of his clothes and ride him until she couldn't remember her own name, until reality set in. She couldn't. So she wrapped her arms around him, keeping his body close to hers, and focused on him rather than herself, hoping that aching feeling would go away soon. "So how was that?" she smiled, with her arms around his shoulders.

"It wa- it was great... Wow."

She leaned back, becoming parallel to him, and licked her fingers clean while looking him in the eye. Something about it was just beyond erotic for Spencer and he leaned in to kiss her, moving his hands more roughly over her body, and he moved his lips to her neck. "Ayva… Let me make you feel good... Let me make you feel like that, please..." Spencer begged, undoing her bra.

"Spence... I..." Ayva moaned, trying to get the words out.

"Please... I just want to make you feel so good..."

She couldn't handle hearing his voice and feeling his touch, so she had to pull away from his grasp.

"Spence... I can't... They haven't cleared me, yet." she sighed sadly. She'd gone to the doctor twice since her release from the hospital and they still hadn't OK'd physical contact.

"Oh… I'm really sorry... I-" he immediately took his hands off her, turning his glance away.

"No, babe, stop being sorry! It feels really good when you touch me... and when you talk to me... But for now... I just... I have to be able to keep control, and I can't when you touch me like that..." she said, putting her hands on his face, meeting his glance with hers.

"I didn't think it would be this difficult to stop..." he admitted.

"Trust me, neither did I." she agreed. She noticed the still fallen expression on his face. "Soon, Spence. I promise." she hugged him, hoping she wasn't lying.


	6. Chapter Five

Reid walked in to Ayva's building in a daze. He stood in front of her door and knocked, waiting for her to answer.

"Hey, baby! You didn't have to knock. Why didn't you use your key?"

Spencer stood in front of her for a minute with a blank expression. Ayva was more than confused, but could tell something was obviously wrong. She gave it a minute before she reached out for him, taking his hand in hers, gently pulling him inside. She timidly put her arms around his waist to hug him, and the second she did, Spencer pulled her right against his body, holding her there tightly. She could feel him shaking slightly, which made her extremely curious as to what had him so upset.

"I missed you." he whispered, resting his head on top of hers.

"I missed you, too, Spence." she replied. She pulled away, and he reluctantly let go, keeping her hand in his. "Come on. "Let's go lay down. I'll give you a massage."

"Can we please just... I just want to hold you."

"Definitely, babe. Come on."

They settled together on Ayva's bed, his arms wrapped tightly around her, once again. They laid in the silence for a good amount of time before Ayva finally asked what was bothering him.

"This case was particularly bad." Spencer frowned. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"Well I'm not going anywhere. In fact, I think I'm just going to go all stalker on you. I'll follow you, save your used tissues; take pictures of you in the shower. You'll wish you'd lose me in no time." She giggled.

"Why me?" he asked, like he was talking to himself.

"What?" she looked up at him, confused.

"Why did you choose me?" he said again, with a curious look on his face.

"Every time I see you, I get butterflies in my tummy. When you hug me, I close my eyes and wish really hard that I could stay like that forever. You don't see the 'pretty girl,' Spence. You see what everyone else ignores. And when you talk to me, it's like you actually listen. You're so perceptive; you see things so much differently than other people. You're interesting to talk to, and I could listen to you talk for hours... And you're also a really good kisser." Ayva smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"How do you see all of that in me?" Spencer wondered, curiously.

"Because I love you." She said, simply. "Now can I cask you a completely serious question?"

Spencer looked down at her curiously. "What?"

"Can I try on your glasses?"

Before Spencer could reply, Ayva took the glasses off Reid's face, and put them on her own, and then looked up at him, with a huge grin on her face. "Well you should know that 83% of people who know the square root of anything can measure the power of time and space travel..." she giggled, making up some random statistic, in an almost convincing manner, until she started to giggle.

Spencer couldn't help but laugh at her with the glasses over powering her face and the big smile. Even in his worst mood, she could make him smile, effortlessly. He continued to admire the look on her face for a minute and then put his hands along her jaw and pulled her toward him to kiss her.

"I am so in love with you."

Ayva smiled, kissing him back and then sat up, straddling his hips. "Okay so. I don't know if this is, like, too soon or anything... But I was wondering what your plans were for the holidays."

"Well, I visit my mom, usually, if she's lucid, why?"

"Well my family goes to Vermont every year for Christmas to ski, and it's really kind of the only time of year I ever get to see my whole family, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come... And meet my family, maybe? You don't have to if you don't want to or anything... But I just... I thought it might be nice." she looked down at him hopefully.

"Wow... you want me to meet your family.... Uhh..." Spencer stumbled over his words, a little overwhelmed by her proposition.

"You don't have to. I just thought it would be a nice idea. I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to mention it," she quickly said, trying to hide her disappointment, moving off him to lay back down on the bed.

"No, it is! And I'd love to! I just... I don't want my mom to be alone on Christmas." he admitted, trying to reassure her.

"Oh... Yeah, it's okay. Don't worry, I understand."

"But I could fly out Christmas day, if that would be okay."

"Yeah?" she turned toward his face, her eyes lighting up.

"It shouldn't be a problem."

Ayva pulled him close, yet again bringing her lips to his.

"You sure you're cool with meeting my family? I don't want to overwhelm you or anything."

"Yeah, I'm okay with it." Spencer nodded, smiling.

-:-

"Guys, conference room in 5." Hotch announced in the bull pin, walking toward his office.

The team assembled in the conference room shortly after, all taking note of the new person present. The unfamiliar woman stood in front of the table next to Hotch with an obligated smile, sizing everyone up as they entered the room. She was tall, a plain looking woman, her hair slicked back in to a tightly wrapped bun, no make up or any distinguishing features about her.

"Everyone this is Dr. Allison Walker. She'll be helping us with this case. This is Agents Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi, and Dr. Reid."

They all greeted her warmly, and then started with their newest case. While Dr. Walker was by no means as smart as Reid, she certainly kept up with his thought process and all of his ideas while they briefed the case. Spencer took notice of her intellect, somewhat intrigued. As they dispersed for lunch, Allison continued her conversation with Spencer and Prentiss about the case. They brought lunch back to the bureau, and reconvened in the conference room to eat together.

When the day drew to a close, the team started to pack up and get ready to leave while Spencer and Allison continued to discuss an existentialist theory completely unrelated to the case. They ended up leaving about a half an hour after everyone else when he finally looked at his watch realizing the time.

"Wow, I'm really sorry, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow though." he said, bolting for the door, realizing he was late to meet Ayva.

"Good night."

The next day when Reid arrived at work, he saw Allison waiting at his desk with coffee in her hands. As he approached his desk, she extended one hand to him, offering one of the coffee cups.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Allison responded. "So I was thinking more about the un-sub's signature last night, and I noticed something in the crime scene photo's that we must have missed earlier."

"It was the flowers on the night stand wrapped in news paper, right? I noticed that too."

"Exactly! So the attacks must have happened shortly after he walked in. None of the victims had the time to put them in a vase or anywhere aside from setting them down right after receiving them."

"It also means that the victims knew him. That's why there was no sign of forced entry, it's because they were expecting him." Spencer added, letting new theories flood his mind. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." he walked away, going to look for the rest of the case file.

JJ walked up to Allison after noticing how she was looking at him. "Hey, how are you liking it here so far?"

"It's not bad. Dr. Reid is interesting." she speculated, as she watched him walk away.

"Yeah... Spence is somethin' special." JJ agreed.

"Do you know if he's single, by any chance?" Allison smiled mischievously, hoping to get some answers from JJ.

"Uh, no, actually he's not. He's got a pretty serious girlfriend at the moment." JJ said, a bit skeptically, hoping the detective wasn't getting any kind of ideas.

"Yeah? That's cool. How long have they been together?"

"About 4 months now. Right around there, I think."

"Oh, okay... Just wondering." Allison replied, and walked away.

Before JJ could dwell anymore on the subject, her cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, JJ, it's Ayva. I was just wondering if it was alright to come by the office for lunch today. I haven't seen you in ages, and I kind of wanted to surprise Spencer. Today is our 4 month anniversary I kind of went baking crazy last night since he had to stay late."

"Yeah, absolutely. I'll make sure we break at 12:30, okay?"

"Awesome!" Ayva squealed, enthusiastically. "I'll see you later then."

-:-

Ayva walked in to the bureau, and looked around the bull pin, thankful that the team was still in the conference room. She arrived a few minutes early, so when he walked out he would see her sitting at his desk. She had a single plain green balloon and set it beside his desktop, and then sat down in his chair to wait for him.

A few minutes later, the team walked out of the conference room, and Spencer, as usual headed for his desk. He was talking to someone unfamiliar to her, but waited for him to notice her presence. It wasn't until the woman pointed to her that he looked and saw her.

"Ayva! What are you doing here?" Spencer smiled, putting his arms around her when she stood up.

"Well since last night you had to stay late, I did a little baking, and figured I'd surprise you... I hope that's okay..." she bit her lip, looking for his approval.

"Of course it is. Happy anniversary, I missed you." he replied, leaning down to kiss her.

Allison stood back and watched the couple interact. How did he end up with her? Spencer Reid did not strike her as the type who would be attracted to someone like her. She was perfectly tanned, manicured, and highlighted, obviously lacking some intelligence, and it just seemed wrong to her. What would she want with him?

"Sorry, that was probably my fault, I kept him late working on the case." Allison interrupted, modestly.

"Oh, no problem! I know his first priority is work." Ayva smiled. "I'm Ayva, it's really great to meet you!"

"You too, I'm Allison." she replied.

"So I made you lunch, and I baked for everyone." she said, holding up the large basket full of baked treats. "And I also made you magic cookies, because I remember you said they were your favorite."

"Wow, thank you." he kissed her. "Come on, let's go eat."

Spencer lead her to the conference room, and sat down, waiting for everyone to matriculate back in.

"Ayva!" both Emily and JJ bolted over to her as they walked in to hug her.

"Hey guys. I made a bunch of cookies and brownies and bread and basically everything that can be made with sugar, so have some!" she giggled, pointing to the basket in front of her.

Both women sat across from her and started to nibble on various goodies. "So what's been up? I haven't seen you in forever." Emily asked, taking a bite of a chocolate chip cookie.

"I'm gearing up for finals, Christmas with the family and Spence." she said, putting her hand on top of his. "Oh! And I have some really exciting news! Last night I was nominated for President and I accepted, so now I'm officially running for President!"

"That's great, sweetheart." Spencer leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Wow, good luck with that. I hope that works out for you." JJ agreed.

"President for what exactly?" Allison asked.

"Of my sorority. I'm still in college."

"Oh, cute. What are you studying? Liberal arts?"

"No, ah, I'm an athletic training major." Ayva smiled, oblivious to Allison's condescending manner.

JJ and Emily noticed Allison becoming increasingly hostile toward Ayva, so they tried to steer the conversation elsewhere.

"So do you guys have any big plans for tonight?"

Before Ayva had a chance to answer, Spencer replied, "Yes, we do."

"Apparently we do." she giggled then turned to him. "News to me, babe."

"You'll find out later. Don't worry." he smiled back.

"Do I smell cookies?"

Ayva turned and smiled as Derek entered the room.

"Hi Derek. I made a bunch of different stuff, feel free to help yourself, they're for everyone."

"Well hey there, cutie! How you been?" he greeted her, with a big hug.

"Really good, actually." she smiled. "Just came to do lunch for our anniversary."

"How long has it been now? 3, 4 months?"

"4." Ayva said, with a warm smile, looking at Spencer again.

Spencer kept his gaze on her, and, again, brought his lips to hers. Derek laughed shaking his head. "You two are givin' me diabetes."

"Hey do you guys want to go Christmas shopping some time next week? We haven't done anything in a while, and any ideas I can get for this one," Ayva poked Spencer in the ribs, "would be greatly appreciated."

"Definitely. I have to do my shopping, too." JJ spoke up.

"Oh! Let's go Thursday, I hear Victoria's Secret is having a sale on Thursday." Emily added.

"You know you're not easy to shop for either." Reid smirked.

The girls continued to catch up as they continued to pick at various treats in the basket Ayva brought in. She left after they all finished and kissed Spencer good-bye and headed back to campus, still wondering what he had planned for their anniversary.

-:-

"So how was the anniversary?"

Ayva held her phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she folded the clean clothes she'd just tossed on her bed.

"It was… non-existent." She replied slowly, trying to think of a good way to explain.

"Excuse me?!" her cousin, Danielle, screamed in her ear. "I thought he had something planned!"

"He did, he just… Got caught up at work." Ayva sighed. "And that happens, his job can be really crazy sometimes."

"Don't go making excuses for him! You wouldn't let anyone else blow you off like that!"

"It's different. He catches the world's most sadistic killers, Yelle. I can hardly get mad at him for having a time consuming job." She reasoned.

"Well he better make it up to you, or I'll come down there and have a go at him." Danielle warned.

"I'm sure he feels awful about it, and I'm not going to make him feel worse. He's hard enough on himself as it is, without any help from me."

"What ever you say, girl. Well I have to go be productive and actually do my job, so text me later!"

Ayva did some more apartment cleaning as she waited for some of her girlfriends to show up for a girl's margarita night. After an extensive wipe down of her whole apartment, she threw together some home made nachos on a cookie sheet and popped them in the oven, and pulled out her blender.

After making a margarita for herself in a festive, salt-rimmed glass, she put on her stereo and waited for the girls to show up. A few of her sorority sisters were the first to arrive. She opted to only invite those who were supportive of her relationship with Spencer; not wanting to deal with any more petty drama the others would most likely create.

JJ and Emily made it later in the evening, due to work. When they got there, Ayva noticed the absence of Penelope, to which JJ explained she had prior plans with Kevin. After making them both a drink, she introduced them to the group of her sorority sisters. They were all very personable and welcoming, as they knew these women were partly responsible for Ayva's safe return after her abduction.

"So what time did you guys end up leaving last night? Spencer called me at, like, midnight saying he'd just left the bureau." Ayva asked conversationally.

"1am? Spence was one of the first to leave, I stayed until about 7 finishing up paperwork, and I was the last one out." JJ answered with a puzzled look on her face.

"That's weird… Maybe he went back, or something…" she shrugged, trying to convince herself that was the reason he missed their anniversary.

"Yeah, maybe." Emily offered, weakly.

As Ayva sipped her margarita, she looked down at her phone and noticed a new text message from Spencer.

"So extraordinarily sry about last night. Make it up 2 u tonite?" Leave it to Spencer Reid to spell out big words in a text message.

She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel as compassionate as she did before. Taking another big gulp of her margarita, she texted him back.

"No, im having a girls nite ttyl."

She hated feeling resentful, but she wasn't sure she wanted to see him, now. He obviously wasn't working, like he said he had been, and she wasn't in the mood to deal with it.

Ayva eventually got over the uneasiness she had with their anniversary, and she let it go, without bringing it up to Spencer. She reluctantly asked Penelope to check the security cameras in the front of the building to see when he actually left. Much to her dismay, she saw that he'd left the building with the new woman working on a case with them. The doctor lady… Unsure of how to proceed, she let the issue drop, never bringing it up to him, yet still letting it get to her on the inside.


	7. Chapter Six

"Hi baby!" Ayva greeted as Spencer walked through her door, bags in hand.

She jumped in to his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, making him drop the bags in his hands.

"Hi there." he smiled, continuing to hold her.

"Are you ready for a week of mountains, snow, and hot chocolate?"

"I'm ready for a week of rest, relaxation, and you."

"I wish I didn't have to wait a week for you to come out." She pouted.

"Well before you know it, the week will have passed, and we'll have 9 whole days of complete and total togetherness." He promised.

"I haven't finished packing yet, so you can come help me finish."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Spencer smirked, carrying her to her room.

"Don't make fun of me! I'm just a little slow." She giggled.

Spencer set her down and helped her finish packing. When she was confident that she had everything she would need, they both left, and headed for the airport in Spencer's vehicle.

They both checked in and walked through security. Before finding their separate gates, Ayva set her bag down to pull something out of her backpack. She handed Spencer a small wrapped box the size of a book.

"Open it after you get on the plane, okay?"

"Okay." he agreed.

"I love you, and I can't wait until Christmas."

"Call me when you land, okay?"

"For sure. I love you, babe." she leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"I love you, too." he replied, hugging her tightly.

Spencer sat at his terminal for about an hour before he boarded the plane. After he settled for the flight, he suddenly remembered the present Ayva gave him. He pulled it out of his bag, and unwrapped it. He opened the small box, which contained a piece of paper. He pulled it out of the box, and set the box aside before unfolding the small paper. The first thing he noticed was the letterhead- it was of the doctor's office she went to. He read it carefully, and then again, making sure he understood right.

_**Physical limitations and restrictions for Ayva Tyler to be lifted two weeks from today's date 12/11**_

He made out the doctors illegible signature underneath those words, and then counted in his head. Two weeks from the eleventh would be… Christmas day.

-:-

"Ayva!"

"Daddy!"

Ayva dropped her bags, to hug her dad who was surrounded by the rest of her family.

"I missed you, Angel."

"I missed you too, dad." she replied, happy to see her family.

"So where's this young man I've been hearing about?" her father asked.

"He'll be here Christmas day, Daddy. He _does _have a family, too."

Ayva spent the next hour or so being bombarded by the rest of her family. She had a few cousins around her age, and spent the majority of the time catching up with them.

"So what's he like?" one of the girls asked about Spencer.

"He's so... different. He's really smart, and he's kind, and..." Ayva was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing, "calling me right now, hold on."

She walked away to answer it. "Hello?"

"Does this... I... is this what I... Does i-it mean-?" Spencer stumbled over his words, as he tried to ask her what the paper from the doctor meant.

"Yes." she smiled at his extreme shyness.

"S-so when I... Uh, are we…?"

"Yeah." Ayva giggled again. "Is that okay?"

"Yes!" Spencer squeaked over zealously.

"Well good… Because I have a few more surprises for you."

"I think I now officially understand the phrase 'that's not fair'" he laughed, imagining what Ayva had in store for him.

"Well I have to get back... But call me tomorrow, okay?"

"Of course. I love you."

"I love you too, babe."

Ayva smiled when she hung up with Spencer, walking back to her cousins to tell them more about the love of her life.

Spencer yawned as he walked up to the front desk of the resort. His flight was delayed because of the incoming snowstorm out east, but finally managed to make it in a little after midnight. He searched through his messenger bag for the room number Ayva gave him, and his I.D so he could ask for his key at the desk.

"Spencer?"

He looked up quickly, not recognizing the voice that just said his name. "Allison? What are you doing here?"

"Just doing a little skiing for the holidays, what are you doing here?"

"Uh, Ayva's here." he replied, a little uneasy about her sudden appearance. "So are you here with your family? Or..."

"No, I don't really have any family so I decided to treat myself to a little vacation. I'm alone." she shrugged, with a helpless look on her face. "Wow... What a coincidence bumping in to you here, huh?"

"Yeah, absolutely. That's kind of sad you're here alone. You have no one to spend Christmas with?"

Against his better judgment, he took a seat beside her on the sofa in the lobby. She told him about the loss of her family, keeping his attention for the better part of an hour. She smiled to herself, loving the attention he was giving her.

"Spence?"

Reid looked behind him, this time recognizing the sweet voice. Ayva was standing there, with a confused, almost hurt expression on her face. He immediately jumped up, and pulled her in to his embrace. "Hey sweetie. Sorry, I was about to ask for my key and I saw-"

"Allison." Ayva cut off, trying to maintain a neutral tone of voice.

"Yeah, sorry if I kept him from you... We just got to talking and lost track of time." She explained.

"Well I don't want to interrupt, I'll just go back to bed, glad you're here safe." She said flatly, pulling away from his grasp rather urgently and turning to head back to her room.

"I'll see you later." Spencer waved to Allison, and then trying to catch up to Ayva. He followed her to her room, catching her at the door. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." she answered, shaking her head, not wanting to look at him.

"Ayva, really? What's the matter?"

"She's here, Spencer? Really?"

"I didn't know she'd be here, I swear!"

"I just... I don't even-" Ayva started to ramble, trying to open the door to the hotel room.

Once she finally got it open, Spencer followed her in. "You don't what, Ayva? What is so wrong here?"

"She's the reason you missed our anniversary and I'm supposed to just _not _be upset that she's here?" She spat at him.

"How did you-"

"I asked Penelope to look at the security camera footage after I was told you were one of the first to leave that night, long before midnight, might I add!"

"You had Garcia spy on me?"

"I know, and I'm sorr…" she stopped herself mid-sentence after a change of heart. "No, I'm done feeling guilty and being sorry. You're the one who lied to me, you're the one who blew off our anniversary!"

"Nothing happened with her! We went to get coffee after work and we took her car, I literally couldn't leave!" he defended.

"So that's why you lied to me? Because you went to get coffee and nothing happened…" Ayva said bitterly. "What do you want me to do, Spence? You obviously like spending time with her, how the hell am I supposed to compete with someone like her? She can make you not even care about missing our anniversary."

"It's not a competition! You're my girlfriend. I'm in love with you, not her!" he insisted.

"Yeah, but... She's smart..." Ayva sighed.

"You're smart, too, Ayva!"

"Not like the way she is! She's a doctor too, she knows things the way you do... She's _real _smart."

Spencer shook his head, standing in front of her, and knelt down to her face level. "I'm in love with you. I'm in love with _your_ mind, _your_ thoughts, _your_ smile, and no one else's!"

Ayva continued to frown. "She makes me feel stupid, like I'm not smart enough to be with you."

He knelt down in front of her. "You're not stupid." He placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to him, making them both topple over. "Trust me, I'm a genius, I know these things."

-:-

"So my dad adores you. Which isn't easy to do." Ayva giggled, sitting with him on the couch in the common area of the resort.

"Well if he does, he certainly didn't let on that he did." Spencer smiled, putting his arm around her.

"Yeah, my dad can be a scary guy. But, sure enough, he likes you. He said that you're good for me, or something like that."

"Well I try." he smiled once again.

"So is there any chance I'll get you out on the slopes at all this week?" Ayva batted her eyes him.

"I love you, and I would move hell and high water for you. But I am not, by any means, a man with that kind of coordination." Spencer shook his head.

"What about tubing? Could you handle some snow tubing a little later? We can share a tube... And then after... We can exchange our presents in the room..."

The thoughts now running through Spencer's mind brought another smile to his face. "I think I could do that." he squeaked.

"Well come on, then!" she giggled, jumping up. "Let's go!"

They spent the majority of the day on the mountain, some of her cousins joining them mid way through. When the sun started to set, they headed back to the resort, and ate with Ayva's entire family. The rest of her family seemed to like Spencer as much as her dad did. They excused themselves from the dining room, claiming to be exhausted, and went back to their room.

When they walked through the door, Ayva ushered Spencer to sit on the bed, but excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

"I'll be right back, I promise!"

Spencer tried to smooth out his corduroys as he sat, impatiently, on the bed, waiting for Ayva to come back out. His head shot up when he heard the door open, not believing his eyes. Ayva walked out wearing one of Spencer's long sleeved button up shirts with only one button buttoned, displaying the black bra and matching panties she had on underneath, and a pair of black pumps.

"Ayva... I, uh... God, you look… I-is that my shirt?" Spencer barely managed to stutter out.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay... I didn't think you'd mind, but if you do, I can take it off." she bit her lip, walking toward him.

"No, it's alright, uh, I mean… You can, you can- I uh…"

She smiled down at him, finding his nervousness endearing. "I think I'll take it off," she said, unbuttoning the one button, and beginning to slide it down her shoulders. "If that's okay."

Spencer nodded his head furiously, giving her the go ahead to remove the shirt. She pushed him back on to the bed, and climbed on top of him after removing her heels. She bent down to kiss him, while letting his hands roam over her. "I love you," he whispered to her in between kisses.

"I love you, too, Spence."

He let her continue to kiss him, but as soon as she started moving her hips back and forth against his cock, he pushed her off, and moved himself on top of her, taking control. Ayva looked up at him, surprised at his newfound aggression. She put her hands underneath his shirt, and moved them up his torso to take it off him. Spencer shivered at her touch on his bare skin; it felt like her fingers were on fire as her hands explored his body. Their kiss grew more passionate and intense as their hands grew bolder with ever move they made. Spencer moved his hands to her back, and unhooked her bra with only a little minor difficulty. He leaned up briefly to remove her bra and panties and toss them with his shirt. He admired her for a second, running his hands over the contours of her body.

Ayva brought her hands to the top of his cords, and proceeded to unbutton and unzip them. She tugged lightly by the pockets, wanting him to help her take them off. Spencer pulled his pants the rest of the way off, and kicked out of them and threw them with the pile of clothes on the floor, leaving him only in his boxers. He moved back down to kiss her, and slid his hands down to her thighs, and around to her butt. Ayva wrapped her legs around his as he started to rub his underwear-covered cock against her pussy. With his hands on her butt, he pulled her up to meet his gentle thrusting. She broke the kiss to moan out, extremely turned on.

Spencer moved his kisses to her neck and trailed downward, but Ayva stopped him when he reached her bellybutton, realizing what he planned on doing.

"Uh, Spence?"

"Yeah? Is something wrong?" His head shot up immediately.

"No, not at all. I just.. Well.. I'm pierced, down there.." she responded. "I hope that's okay."

"Yeah." the pitch in his voice raised significantly. "C-can I still…?"

"Of course! I mean, If you still want..."

He nodded his head and smiled. "I want."

"Does... does it feel good?" he asked, curious about her adornment.

"It feels good when I play with it," she smiled up at him.

Spencer took his time acquainting himself with her newfound piercing. Smiling to himself every time he'd flick at it with his tongue, which would cause her to shriek in delight. As he continued to please her with his tongue, he couldn't help but notice that this wasn't how he imagined their first time together being. Not after their first sexual experience. It was so raw then, but now it was different, somehow. She was more vulnerable, much like he had been the first night in his apartment on his couch. He was surprised when Ayva's legs began to shake, bringing her over the edge without even putting extreme effort in to it. Her moans and gasps sounded almost musical to him, while Ayva herself was seeing stars.

Her whisper of his name was a pleading moan that Spencer had no resistance to. He quickly took off his boxers and was hovering over her, kissing her neck and nuzzling his cheek against hers. Ayva wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding tightly to him again, as he slid inside of her then stopped. She could only look in his eyes for a second before she had to close her eyes and wanting to just concentrate on the way he felt.

Spencer nibbled on her earlobe, distracting himself from wanting to begin moving against her. He felt like he knew what she needed, and it wasn't another easy-off orgasm. He wanted to take her there again, but slowly. Though his experience wasn't vast by any means, he had confidence in what he was doing. He could feel her fingertips skimming over his shoulders and across the back of his neck, nearly giving him goose bumps.

"God, it's amazing..." Ayva said, very softly.

Spencer raised his head to look at her, curiously. "What is?"

She opened her eyes to look in his again, "You." She brought his face closer to hers and kissed him deeply, taking his breath away, just as what she'd said had. Her hands crept further down his back, sliding over the curve of his ass, and grabbing at him, her nails jabbing at his skin.

Spencer pulled away from her kiss, a low growl escaping his lips. He guessed she was ready now, feeling feistier. He felt her shift slightly to rearrange herself, drawing her knees closer to her chest and allowing him to slide more deeply into her. Ayva gave him a sexy smirk and raised her hips a little, beginning a slight rocking motion, hinting to him what she wanted. Spencer returned the smirk and leaned down to kiss her again, quickly this time as his body began moving against hers.

Ayva didn't stay in the new position very long, almost as soon as he'd started thrusting she moved again, wrapping herself around him once more- simply wanting, or maybe needing to feel as much of him as she could. His face was close to hers; she loved the sound of his breathing and feeling his breath blow over her neck. Her hands wandered over his body again, pausing at his back to feel his muscles flex as he moved in and out of her.

Spencer tilted his head, alternately taking gentle bites at her neck and sucking at the spot just below her ear- getting a little giddy from the sound she'd make whenever he would do it. He shifted a little, slightly changing the position of his body on hers- causing her to moan at his next thrust- so that he could kiss her again. His lips met hers gently at first, almost a peck, and he kissed her again and again, each lasting a little longer, becoming more sensual until they were breathing together, their bodies completely in sync with each other. He was getting close to his release so fast, but knew she was too, he could feel her nails digging into his arms, and the tension building throughout her body.

Ayva wasn't surprised at how quickly her climax built- she'd felt on the edge since he'd been inside her- but it was every skillful move that Spencer made- like he knew exactly what to do to take her there so fast. He felt her body stiffen beneath him and then she began to tremble in his hold, burying her face in his chest. She immediately heard the sexiest sounding cry she'd ever heard leaving his lips. His body reacted to her silky walls contracting around his pulsing cock. She held him tighter until the tremors eased, and he was left breathless.

Spencer's eyes caught Ayva's for only second before they both looked away, both somewhat afraid to face the intensity of what they'd just experienced. He kissed her forehead and carefully moved off of her, laying beside her and draping his arm across her, closing his eyes.


	8. Chapter Seven

"Morning girls." Ayva yawned, walking in to the dining room and pulling the sweatshirt over her head at the same time.

"Well good morning to you, too, sunshine." one of her aunts smiled as she sat down.

"You look tired, Ayve. Long night?" Another cousin giggled.

Ayva looked around the table, and noted the presence of a few younger girls, so she simply replied "Yeah, long and thick." with a smirk on her face.

All of the older women at the table giggled, knowing what Ayva was talking about. She woke up too late to shower before going down to meet the other women for breakfast, so she opted just to put on a pair of flannel pants and one of her many hoodies and head to the dining room. It was the day before New Years Eve, and it was tradition for the women to spend the day shopping for something to wear the following evening while the men helped the event crew set up the venue for the actual soiree, because Ayva's father put it on.

As the girls spent the day shopping, Ayva found herself missing Spencer. The intimacy they shared the night before had settled any of her conflicting thoughts on the way he felt about her.

-:-

"Wow." Spencer smiled as Ayva stepped out of the bathroom, ready for the evening. The strapless dress she wore was a pencil form fitting shape and had a low sweetheart neckline with a small black ribbon under the bust line tied in to a bow She pulled her hair to one side, and he walked toward her to give her a kiss.

"You look really good, too." she grinned fixing his tie.

They headed downstairs to the rest of her family and they all traveled to the venue together. The night started off great, the place looked amazing and everyone was having a great time. She'd even gotten him to dance with her a few times. As she stood with his arms wrapped solidly around her, she knew the year to come was sure to be magical.

Spencer drifted from Ayva after a few hours, starting to feel the effects of the alcohol he'd consumed and needed to find a bathroom. On his way back to the ballroom, he took notice of the grand staircase leading down to the lower level. He curiously walked down the steps and spotted a woman sitting on a coach in the secluded front area alone.

"What's wrong?"

The woman looked up at him, and gave him a small smile. "Oh, it's nothing… This time of year is always a little difficult for me." It was Allison.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Spencer sat down next to her.

"My parents died right before New Years a few years back..." she started, shrugging her shoulders. "It was my dad's favorite holiday. All about new beginnings and what not."

They continued to talk, letting the time pass, unaware. As midnight approached, Ayva started to look for Spencer. She checked the balcony, the lounge, even had a cousin check the bathroom for him. She headed down the grand staircase, wondering maybe if he had wandered off. She hurried, as the countdown had already started. "12, 11, 10..."

"I just wish I had someone to hold on New Years, since I have no one else, ya know?" Allison stated, looking up at him with a sad smile. "They say it's bad luck not to start off the New Year with a kiss."

"6, 5, 4, 3..." Spencer noticed she was moving closer to his face, but before he could do anything to stop her, she pulled him aggressively, and kissed him. And in the moment that rang in the New Year, Ayva's heart shattered.

"Spence... How could you?"

He shot his head up immediately upon hearing Ayva's voice. And for the first time since he had rescued her, he saw tears in her eyes. Spencer stood up and tried to catch up with her, but she didn't pay any attention to his calls or pleading. She walked in to the ballroom to grab her things, no longer wanting to be there. He continued to follow her outside, where he tried to stop her.

"Ayva, wait, I can explain-"

"Explain what, Spencer? How you kissed her, or how you promised she meant nothing to you?" She cried, trying to wipe away her tears.

"She doesn't! I swear... She means nothing to me! I love you, Ayva." he grabbed both her arms.

"No, no! Don't you dare say that to me! How can you possibly love me and do what you just did, after knowing how I felt about her? You knew I thought she was no good, that she was trying to get to you!"

Ayva didn't give him time to answer before she got in the cab and it sped away. He sighed in defeat, close to tears. Did he really just lose the best thing that ever happened to him?

-:-

"What's wrong with the kid?" Morgan asked Penelope, quietly, motioning to Reid, who was at his desk working, looking like he'd been run over a truck.

"I think something happened. Ayva won't return my calls, and hasn't talked to JJ or Emily. It's been over a week since they got back."

"Have either of you talked to Reid? He looks like someone just killed his dog." Hotch walked up to them both, wondering what was going on.

"No, sir. He hasn't said a word to anyone since he's been back." Penelope replied.

"If you guys find out, let me know, I'm concerned." he said, and walked back to his office.

Garcia stood up, keys in hand, about to walk out of her office.

"Whoa, where you headed, baby girl?"

"Well first, I'm going to grab Emily and JJ, and then we are going to talk to Ayva. Something is going on, and we're going to find out."

When they arrived at Ayva's apartment, she answered after the first few knocks, holding a mug in her hands and looking like she'd been awake for days.

"What happened?" JJ asked softly as they all took a seat on her couch.

Ayva gave them a condensed version of what happened as she sipped her tea. "I just... I knew it was too good to be true... How could I think he'd really want to be with someone like me?"

"That's not true, Ayva. He made a mistake, he loves you." Penelope tried to comfort her.

"It's the smart thing... She's so smart. And the victim thing… He felt sorry for me, that's all. What kind of agent has a lasting relationship with the victim?" she shook her head.

"I really don't think that's true." JJ countered.

"It is what it is, I guess. Thank you guys for coming though, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to see you guys anymore."

"Well we have to get back to the bureau, we'll come by later, okay?" Emily offered.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." she nodded.

"Oh, hey. I love the flowers." Penelope commented, pointing to a bouquet wrapped in newspaper on the kitchen counter.

"Thanks, they showed up on my door step this morning, don't know who they're from." She shrugged.

When the three women arrived back at the bureau, they sat in the conference room, trying to analyze the situation.

"Did you notice how she wasn't crying at all?" Penelope asked, really put off by it.

"What did you guys find out?" Morgan walked in, wondering what happened.

"It's more sad that she wasn't. She's actually convinced herself that Reid doesn't love her anymore, and accepted that as the truth."

"She had been thinking about them in the long term aspect... She was making plans." Emily sighed.

"Wait, what is going on here?" Morgan interrupted.

Before any of them had a chance to answer, Hotch walked in with a file in hand. "Dr. Walker is looking for a permanent transfer to the BAU, do you guys think it's a good idea?"

"Not if you ever want to see Ayva around here again." Penelope shook her head, before realizing she'd voiced her concern. "Oops, did I just say that out loud?"

"Why? What's going on?" Hotch questioned.

"She has some... slightly stalker-ish tendencies." Emily replied.

"What makes you say that?" Morgan wondered.

"She showed up in Vermont at the resort Spencer and Ayva were staying at, and then kissed him on New Years Eve after giving him some sob story about her family." Garcia blurted out. "It wouldn't be so weird, sir, except she didn't make a reservation until 2 hours before she got there, I checked. And she paid a pretty hefty chunk of change to get a room in that hotel, it had been booked solid a month earlier."

"Is that what's been wrong with the kid?"

"We think so. They're both in pretty bad shape." JJ added, quietly.

"That alone is grounds enough to deny the request. We have fraternization policies that I can't compromise."

"I got it!" Spencer rushed in to the room, waving the file in his hands.

"Got what, kid?" Morgan asked.

"We had it all wrong when we said the un-sub knew his victims. If you look closely at the flowers in the pictures, notice how they've started to wilt, like they've been there for 3 or 4 days, but because they weren't submerged in water after receiving them, it significantly speeds up the process, so it would only take 3 or for hours." he spread out the pictures on the table for everyone to see.

"Oh hey, those look like the flowers at Ayva's." Penelope noticed.

"What did you just say?" Spencer shot his head up at Garcia.

"Well we went to see her earlier and she had flowers on her counter wrapped in news paper like that."

"Oh my god..." he said to himself, as realization of what was happening set in... Again. He suddenly bolted back to his desk, tearing it apart in search of his keys.

"Hold on a minute here, kid. What are the chances of her being sought out again in such a small time frame?" Morgan tried to reason.

"Actually, a victim of a violent crime is seven times more likely to be attacked again than those who haven't been attacked in the past."

As Spencer sped to Ayva's apartment building, he was going over worst-case scenarios in his head, praying she'd still be safe when he got there. He came to a grinding halt when he pulled up to her building, not bothering to park. The team was behind him, trying to keep up. When he got to her door, he fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one that would open it. When he finally got in, he frantically searched every room, finding no sign of her. The rest of the team stood silently as Spencer fought to keep from completely breaking down.

Morgan stepped up, and took him by the shoulders. "Hey, look at me, man." When his gaze caught Reid's, he continued to speak. "I know how you must be feeling, and I know how scared and worried you are for her, but in order to save her, we need to calm down and think clearly, alright? Now where would he have taken her?"

-:-

Ayva sighed, not even being able to believe this was happening again. Even though her wrists and ankles were tied to the chair she was sitting on, no panic struck her; no tears came from her eyes. Nothing. She looked down, aaaaaandd she had no clothes on. Awesome. She hadn't even tried to figure out a way to escape. There was none, she'd resigned herself to the fate she knew was ahead of her.

She'd been tied up for quite a while, assuming he abductor would show up soon, because, come on, what else would be doing? Her head turned when she heard someone walking in her direction. He was an average height, chubby, middle aged man, who wore a backwards baseball cap, and an old letterman's jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans. Ayva sighed, almost in relief, like this was going to cure her boredom as she whispered to herself "fucking finally..."

"You're different from the others..." the man spoke, a smile roused on his face.

"Yeah? Well I'm a unique butterfly." Ayva replied flatly, wondering where exactly he'd be taking this conversation.

"You haven't struggled, yelled for help, or resisted at all, why is that?"

"I'm not under any kind of notion that I'll be getting out of here alive, so it all would have been futile, would it not?"

"Aww, come on. Surely your little FBI boyfriend can come save you." he laughed, sarcastically.

She scoffed at the thought. "Well I truly hope you didn't plan all of this in hopes of getting to Spencer Reid, because if so, you've already failed. Maybe next time do some follow up on your homework, and you'd have known to take Allison Walker instead."

"Now that's just tragic." the man sarcastically said before backhanding her in the face. "You really are too mouthy for your own good."

He walked away from her, toward a nearby closet, and bent over to pick up something, which Ayva realized was a car battery attached to something else, when he turned around. Panic set in as she gathered what he was going to do with it.

"God, why is this happening to me?" she sighed, as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Do you know how easy it could be to kill you with the right voltage?" he grinned, attaching two cables to her body. "Then again, lower it just a little, and all it will do is send your body in to shock, forgive the pun."

The man flipped the switch to turn on the battery as it sent electricity throughout her. Instinctively, she screamed out, not being able to handle the intense pain. He repeated the torture a few more times before stopping.

"Please… Please, no…" she pleaded, more out of instinct than actual want.

He laughed at her pleads as he turned the switch on again, enjoying the sounds of her suffering. "It really is sad that your boyfriend couldn't be here to save you, this is probably going to hurt..."

As soon as his greasy fingers turned the knob, there was a loud thud coming from the next room, and Ayva's head shot over to the door Morgan had just kicked down, not believing he was there.

"Turn it off and put your hands in the air!"

He remained still, making no effort to turn off the electric device, keeping a crooked grin on his face.

"Now!" Morgan screamed a little more harshly this time. Before he had a chance to shoot, he was struck down, which caused Derek to look behind him, to see JJ there, holding a gun that was now smoking.

They both ran over to Ayva, turning off the battery and taking the cords off of her body. Derek took his own shirt off and put it on her, and then proceeded to carry her outside.

"How did you guys know?" she choked out, quietly.

"It's our job to know, baby girl." Morgan replied lightly. "You're alright now, I'm taking you to the ambulance."

Morgan's voice was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness in his arms.


	9. Chapter Eight

"I never wanted you to have to do that, JJ..." Spencer ran his fingers through his hair, still trying to cope with everything that just happened.

"I couldn't let you or Morgan take that chance. It needed to be done, it's just a matter of who was going to do it." she assured him.

"Dr. Reid?" the doctor called his name.

He rushed over to the doctor, "Yes?"

"She's stable for now, but her body has been under an immense amount of stress for an extended period of time." he explained to Spencer.

"There's other stress to her body aside from the recent torture?" he asked, extremely confused.

"Dr. Reid, Ayva is recovering from a type 3B eating disorder, and I understand she was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder a few months back?"

"Yes, she was abducted approximately six days before she was diagnosed. How exactly could she have had such a severe diagnosis and recovered so efficiently. When did she start the recovery process?" he asked trying to understand what the doctor was telling him.

"It says here her recovery process started about 10 months ago, but a recent stressor caused a relapse, I'd say no more than three months back."

"Uh, can I see her? Is she awake?"

"Sure, I'll take you to her room." the doctor lead Spencer to Ayva's room, and left shortly after explaining the rest of her situation.

Spencer hesitantly turned the knob, and stood in the doorway, unsure of what to say or do. Ayva struggled to lean up to see who had just come in. Spencer rubbed his eyes, as to keep away any evidence that tears were welling up in them. They both remained silent for a few minutes, before she finally opened her mouth.

"Is he dead?"

"Yeah." he nodded his head.

"Who shot him?" she quietly asked. "I remember seeing Morgan... But it got all cloudy after that. I remember hearing voices, but I can't remember whose."

"It was supposed to be Morgan, but JJ ended up taking the shot."

"You can sit, if you'd like." Ayva motioned to the chair beside her bed. "What do you mean 'it was supposed to be Morgan?'"

"The reason I wasn't there was because if I had done it, it could be speculated that I took the law in to my own hands for your sake. Morgan offered to go instead of me, so I wouldn't be implicated." Spencer vaguely explained.

"You planned on killing him the entire time?" she asked incredulously.

"I can't answer that, Ayva..."

"Why?"

"Because if it were, for any reason, to be looked in to, I won't put you in a position where you'd have to lie in a court of law."

"Oh my god, you did. So JJ took the shot, knowing it could have fallen back on Morgan as well. Wow… I can't believe that."

"This shouldn't have happened. I should have been able to stop this..."

"You said that last time..." she brought her hand to his cheek. "And once again, I'm alive because of you... And what's more you risked your entire career today, for me."

"Ayva, I... I have to talk to you about something." he hesitated.

"What?" she asked, sensing the hint of worry in her tone.

"I talked to the doctor and he said... He told me you were recovering from a pretty serious eating disorder, a-and that you relapsed a few months back."

"It's not a huge deal. When I met Allison, and that day when she made me feel really terrible, it was just... It's a vice, just like any kind of drug. I handle it most of the time, but sometimes I mess up. I'm okay."

"Ayva, the doctor said that the physical stress to your body indicates you've been doing this regularly since around that time. It's the reason your body can't heal as quickly or efficiently."

"I'm not perfect, what can I say? I couldn't help it when she was around, and I didn't want to let you know how much it bothered me, so I used it as a coping method. I'm alive, Spence, you don't have to over react."

"I'm not over reacting, I'm worried. They say that you could be really sick, and that you could die if you don't stop." his bottom lip began to quiver, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

"I... I can get help, I know how to fight this, but I won't drag you in to it, Spence. I won't let this affect you, too."

"It already has, Ayva. Do you think I don't feel responsible for this? How could I not have seen the signs? How could I not have known?"

"Excuse me, Ms. Tyler? I'm Dr. Patterson, I'm here to examine your shock wounds, and make sure your heart is doing alright." the doctor greeted with a warm smile. She turned to Spencer; "We should be done in a few minutes, if you'd like to wait outside."

Spencer stood up and after assuring Ayva he'd be back later, he left the room. As he walked back toward the waiting room, he stopped short, desperately trying to regain composure. He put both his hands up against the wall, and let his head fall down to his chest.

"Spencer."

He felt a hand on his back. Morgan.

"Not now, Derek." he said as politely as possible.

"I'm only here to listen." he replied, calmly.

"Listen to what? Ayva has a type 3 eating disorder, and in recovery until I started spending time with Allison." Spencer admitted, with his head still lowered. He turned to look at Derek, with a look of disbelief on his face. "Do you know how hard it is to recover from something that severe? How extremely rare that is? 82% of medical practitioners say that the only addiction harder to overcome than a stage 3 bulimic is heroine. Heroine, Derek."

Morgan pulled Spencer in to an embrace. No one had ever seen him break down like this. Spencer held on to Morgan with his face turned away from his colleague, embarrassed that he couldn't keep it together. "Just let it out, man. I'm here for you."

"I just... I couldn't help her. I didn't even have the chance to save her... First my mom a-and now her… What am I doing so wrong?"

Morgan pulled Spencer away, so they were making eye contact. "You listen to me. We did what we needed to do to save her; you were ready to put your career on the line for her today. Now you need to stop putting the blame on yourself and focus on what you need to do to get past this. You have another chance with her because she is alive, take advantage of the opportunity, and fight like hell for it, man. You are way too smart to be thinking like this."

Spencer wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and nodded at Morgan. He took a walk to calm down, and to find coffee. The cafeteria was deserted when he paid for his oversized cup, and he kept walking through the halls, trying to gather his thoughts. He brainstormed ideas to help get her better, how to help them move on from this mess, but came up with nothing. Finally deciding to give his mind a rest, he headed back to Ayva's room to check on her.

-:-

_I stare at your face, in to your eyes. Outside there's so much passing us by. All of the sounds and all of the sights, over the earth and under the sky. Too much cold and too much rain. Too much heart ache to explain..._*

Ayva was pulled from the trance the music had her in when she heard the door shut. She didn't bother getting up, she wanted too much to stay where she was, in that moment, and she knew Spencer would search for her, and eventually find her. In the days that passed since she was released from the hospital, she hadn't seen him at all. She found herself spending a lot of time in the position she currently maintained, but this time she was at Spencer's. After another few minutes, she heard the sliding door open, but remained lying down on the deck, looking up at the stars.

Spencer walked out on to the balcony, and put on a puzzled look when he noticed Ayva was lying down in the middle of the cemented area. He saw her car when he pulled in to his complex, so he knew she was there. Rather than saying anything, he knelt, and laid down beside her, staying silent. He looked up to the sky, as she was, and automatically started to isolate different constellations in the stars. A few minutes passed as he lost himself in his thoughts when she moved her hand over to his, taking hold of it. He turned his head away from the sky to look over at her, with a smile on his face. She slowly turned her gaze to him as well. A timid, scared smile crept to her face as they made eye contact, each admiring the other.

"You can see both Ursa Major and Minor quite clearly tonight." he finally spoke. "It's actually the optimal time of year to see them both."

"Do you think that angels really exist? Like... someone is really watching over you?" she bit her lip.

"I know angels exist, because I'm staring at one now." Spencer said, rather seriously.

"If I were an angel, I don't think bad things would keep happening to me." she shook her head.

"I think it could be quite the opposite, actually. Only something so perfect and so heavenly could endure the pure evil in this world and still manage to exist so peacefully. And here you are. You are most definitely an angel."

"I just want to forget." She sighed. "I just want to wake up and find out that none of this happened. I don't care what you did any more; I don't care about any of it. I just want to be with you. I can't picture my life without you in it, anymore."

_I walk on the street, talk in the dark. I see people's dreams just falling apart. I open my arms, try to be true. Seems like my only truth is you. Am I wrong or am I right? All I want is you tonight..._*

Ayva cast her eyes downward and lost herself in her own thoughts for moment, and a few tears fell from her eyes. "You know... I really thought that you weren't going to come... I kept telling myself that I had to accept I was going to die."

Spencer's eyes widened, a look of sadness and shock rose to his face. "Ayva..." he started. He rolled on to his stomach, and then crawled on top of her so that the space between them was minimal. "That was never an option; not finding you. I'm never going to let that happen to you again." he finished firmly.

"Really?"

"You are the most important thing in my life, and I'm not going to let anyone take you from me. You don't have to worry about not having me in your life because it won't happen. Not now, not ever."

_Who needs the world when I've got you? Switch off the sun, the stars, and the moon. I have all I need inside of this room. Who needs the world when I've got you?*_

She gave a small smile and looked up at him. "I'm going to marry you some day."

Spencer smiled, letting a feeling of overwhelming happiness fill him. "Yeah? Where's our honeymoon going to be?"

"Probably England, or maybe Ireland. I can't see you wanting to spend 2 whole weeks in the sun or on a beach." Ayva giggled.

"I'm pretty sure the last thing I'll be doing on our honeymoon is looking for something to complain about."

"But it's _our _honeymoon, it's got to be somewhere we _both _want to go!"

"Well we'll figure thought out together, then." he smiled, pulling her tight as he kissed her.

-:-

*Who needs the world - Nick Carter


End file.
